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Sunday, May 20, 2018

It's RELEASE DAY over at Power Poppy!!!!! Oh...my...goodness!! I can't believe it is finally here. People...you seriously need to head on over to Power Poppy and Start....SHOPPING!! I had THE MOST FUN playing with these stamp sets. They are each unique and full of incredible possibilities!! I have two cards to share with you today, using 4 different stamp sets.

For my first card, I combined Big, Sexy Leaves with Abundant Petals. Don't they look fabulous together? Seriously now!!! I started by stamping the Big Sexy Leaves background image onto copy paper. Why? Well, I wanted to minc the leaves onto decorative paper, and my copier has toner. So I just stamped it onto copy paper, and copied it onto my decorative paper. Then I minc'ed it with Champagne Foil. The shimmer is just stunning! I have a short video of it on Instagram...look for "tosh.l" if you'd like to see it.I then colored up this stunning Peony. Marcy and her flowers...let me tell ya. They are nothing short of F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!! I fussy cut each bloom and leaf cluster and added it to my card.

Now, my second card is on the opposite end of the spectrum. I wanted to show that Toile (although is usually made up of repeating patterns) does not have to be perfect. If you look closely at the background I created below, you will be able to tell the randomness of it. And because the blooms are so beautifully and intricately designed, the "lack-of-perfection", is not noticeable without looking up close. I used a variety of images from the Bee Kind Toile set, and combined it with one of the new M-Powering Words sentiments stamped over a honeycomb background.

That's it for my projects these last 5 days. I hope you've enjoyed the previews. Be sure to stop by Power Poppy and check out the entire Creative + Curious Collection. These sets are show stoppers!!Check out what the rest of the Bloom Brigade has to share for some last minute inspiration:

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Okay...It is day 4 of Power Poppy's Creative + Curious Sneak Peeks, and there is still SO...MUCH...TO...SEE!!! It's almost crazy how much new stuff Marcella has come up with. Well, today I went a little crazy with my project too. I'm featuring a new sentiment set called M-Powering Words, that I combined with two previously previewed sets: Poppy XL and Big Sexy Leaves.

I wanted to step out of my box (again...what...am...I...thinking?!?!?!?), and do a little mixed media. I started by diecutting a tag shape out of watercolor paper, and then I stamped the Poppy XL with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink offset a bit. I then created a masked and covered the entire flower. I then stamped the M-Powering Words sentiment with Tuxedo Black and covered it with with Molotow Art Masking Liquid. There's a learning curve with this stuff I think, because I had a hard time removing it, so I'm going to do some more research on the proper drying time, etc.Anyway, after everything was masked, I sponged on some Fossilized Amber and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide in and spritzed it with water. After it dried, I stamped the Big Sexy Leaves Background image with Versamark and embossed it with White embossing powder. I then peeled off the masks and watercolored the Poppy with some Tombow Markers and a water pen. The itty-bitty sentiment (from the Poppy XL set was embossed onto black cardstock and added to the end.

Now, be sure to check out the following Bloom Brigade blogs for some more inspiration:

Friday, May 18, 2018

Have you been enjoying the Power Poppy Creative + Curious Collection previews? Marcy really pulled out all the stops this time. Well, actually, she always does, but I get just as excited every time there's a new release.Today I went a little crazy with the new Bee Kind Toile set. I have two cards to share with you, and I actually made another one with this set too, but I'm saving that one for the 20th. It might even be my fave.There are limitless ways to use this set. It's just full of little images that work beautifully together, or alone as on the inside of my card. Toile is often monochromatic, so I used Peanut Brittle for outside and inside and just used a couple of dies to give it dimension. So easy...no coloring involved at all. The hardest part is deciding your pattern.

For my next card, I used a variety of techniques. For the base, I just stamped a pattern with Smokey Gray Versafine using my Misti. For the dark gray patterned piece, I stamped the pattern onto copy paper, copied it with my copier that has toner ink, and Minc'ed it with White Foil. For the honeycomb background, I inked it up with Peanut Brittle again, stamped it off, then added it to the tag for a distressed look. I added a little bit of highlights to the bee skep with a 0.3 Sepia Copic Multiliner, and added a couple of mini-tags to the top.

No coloring at all today. That's rare for me, but this was so much fun!!!!Check out what the following Bloom Brigaders have to share today:

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Hello my creative friends!!! It's the second day for Power Poppy previews of the new Creative + Curious Collection, and I'm featuring an absolutely fantastic Wild Mushroom set. Seriously...Marcy has included such a variety of super fun mushrooms that I had a hard time choosing which one to use until I focused on one of the sentiments. It says "I am so happy I found you". I immediately thought that I had to make a masculine card for my husband.

Now, you might be thinking why mushrooms for my husband...well...he HATES them, and I love them. We can be kind of ornery to each other at times...well, a lot of times, so why not make him a card with mushrooms? In his defense, the only mushrooms he has ever seen in the wild, grow on piles of manure that we store in the back of our dairy before using it as fertilizer in our fields. So, I imagine that might be a bit disgusting if those are the only ones he can think of. hahaI thought the Morel mushrooms were super fun with their sponge-like texture, so I decided to use the no-line technique with them. I started by stamping the mushroom vignette with Peanut Brittle Memento ink onto X-Press It cardstock, masked off the image, and sponged Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint and Walnut Stain Distress Oxides around it. I then (with the mask still on) sprinkled water onto the distressed areas. I then removed the mask and proceeded to color the image with Copics.I also scored a frame that I made after diecutting and opening for a bit of texture, and added the sentiment with a mini-paperclip.

Oh, and by-the-way...there are coordinating dies for this set!! Yep!!! How awesome is that!?!?!?

That's it for my project today. Be
sure to check out the blogs of the following Bloom Brigaders. They
have quite the inspirational pieces to share with you today!!

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Hello my creative friends!! I am so sorry for the long absence. I was busy with a lot of "life" things, and I've been working on some projects for this new Power Poppy release Creative + Curious Collection. There are literally 11 new Power Poppy sets being released, some sets even have coordinating dies too! And peeps...as always, Marcella has pulled out all the stops.

I'm featuring the stamp Big Sexy Leaves. This baby is a 6 x 6 Background stamp that is so versatile and complimentary to other sets that I have used it for 3 different projects for this release. I can't wait to show you how I combined it with a gorgeous new floral set on the 20th. And be sure to stop by on the 19th to see how I used a fun technique with Alcohol inks. Today, I stamped it onto Canson Pastel paper and watercolored it. I'm not very comfortable with watercoloring, but I wanted to try a rustic background with these stunning leaves and showcase their diversity. I layered the sentiment "hello" 6 times using the Power using the Loving Tulips Coordinating die. I think the dimension adds a bit of fun. The sentiment is a sneak peek from a set, called Always Here, that is going to be featured on the 18th.

Do you see the little heart on the sentiment flag? That's the inside piece to a heart from the Loving Tulips Coordinating die set. I just colored it with my Krylon gold leafing pen. I thought it added a nice little "punch".That sums up my project for today. Now, if you haven't already, check out what the rest of the Bloom Brigade has to share with you today. These gals will knock your socks off with their creativity, and I'm not even a little bit kidding!

Friday, April 13, 2018

Hello my creative friends!!! Have you had a chance to check out this month's Power Poppy Power and Spark Challenge? Marcy and Julie are challenging us to share what "feeds our souls". How do we recharge?

Well, there are a number of things that uplift me, but first and foremost is my relationship with my personal Savior. Without Him, I would be empty. And thankfully, he has blessed me with so many other things that delight me. These are three of my current daily reads: The Quiet Place by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (A gift from a dear friend), Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (A gift to myself), and Thirty-One Prayers for My Husband by Jennifer Smith (Prayers I add each day for my one and only).

#2 ~ of course...I love cardmaking!! I started about 23 years ago and have never stopped. Right now, my "go to" medium is Copics, but today I watercolored using Tombow Markers. It's not my forte, but I wanted to try my hand at watercoloring the large sunflower from the Power Poppy set In Praise of Sunflowers. I have a dear friend who is celebrating her birthday in a few weeks, and we have a mutual love for sunflowers.

#3 ~ I am a nature freak!! I absolutely adore anything God made. Seriously...any flower, animal, mountain, ocean, etc. I even find snakes and spiders fascinating. (not that I'd want to find either in my house mind you.) Here, in the Central Valley of California, we have a short window of time when the foothills of the Sierra Nevada are green and vibrant with Wildflowers. Once it starts getting hot, the grass turns brown, and the flowers die out.

So last week, I took a sweet little drive (on Yokhol Dr.) with a friend who has the same love of nature that I do. Below are just a few of the sites we were blessed to see. I have a lot more wildflower individual shots too, but I'll just leave you with these photos. The last one just delights me. How I would love to be able to just lay around in wildflowers all day (and not worry about getting bit by a rattlesnake...those guys LOVE the foothills).

#4 ~ which I probably should list as #1... spending time with my family!! We often get together to play games, and we love to camp. (And this summer we are increasing by 1. We're going to be Grandparents...Woo-Hoo!!)

I also love to read and spend time with my dog and horses, but that's it for me today. For some more inspiration, you'll want to stop by the following Bloom Brigade Blogs:

Friday, March 30, 2018

Happy Friday my creative friends!! I hope you all had a delightful week full of creativity. Today, I have a card to share that I made using Power Poppy's Planning for Magnolias clear set. I wanted an "open face" type floral image that I could play around with, adding shadows and folds. It's not a technique I'm comfortable with, so I figured practicing is the best way to learn and grow. I also planned on Minc'ing the image with white foil, but in full transparency, I was happy with my coloring, and was scared what the white detail would do to it. So.......I chickened out, and left it like this. It takes me hours upon hours to color, so I might just try one bloom, Minc it, and see how it looks. Yep...I think that's going to be my next project.

I used a sentiment from the Power Poppy set Prairie Cheer because it's for my daughter, and it's a perfect fit for her. I added some Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer (Nuvo) to the punched heart after coloring it with some Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide (Ranger). I also added it to the flower center, but it's hard to see in the photos.

That's it for today's project. Be sure to check out the blogs from the following Bloom Brigaders:

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About Me

I'm a daughter of Christ, a wife and a mother to two lovely children and a daughter-in-law. My husband runs our dairy, while I spend a lot of my time creating in my studio. If I'm not stamping you most likely will find me with my horses or dogs, or spending time with my family. I hope by visiting you are inspired to be creative today.

Sketches

Copyright

All contents of this site, including digital images, texts, tutorials and designs are copyrighted by Tosha Leyendekker. My original artwork is for personal inspiration only and may not be copied for publication or contest submission.

FTC Declaration:

I have received free products from the following companies for promotional purposes, and only endorse and recommend products I like and use: Power Poppy, Verve, Waltzingmouse, JustRite, Stamper's Dream, Rubbernecker, Whipper Snapper, Our Daily Bread Designs, Starving Artist Stamps